Geranium plant named Sally

ABSTRACT

A geranium plant named Sally having bright red-purple flower color with a small, dark red-purple variegation on upper two petals; compact, floriferous, self-branching growth habit; early flowering; good bud production at night temperatures up to 16° C., thus providing a long and continuous flowering period; medium green foliage; and ease of propagation and good rooting habit.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of geranium,botanically known as Pelargonium domesticum, and hereinafter referred toby the cultivar name Sally.

Sally is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objectiveof creating new geranium cultivars having a very floriferous, compactgrowth habit, red-purple flower color, very early flowering, and largepetals.

Sally was originated from a hybridization made by applicant in acontrolled breeding program in Bisamberg, Austria in 1980. The femaleparent was a cultivar designated as seedling lilac/2, having a veryvigorous growth habit, early flowering and long flowering period, andlarge petals. The male parent of Sally was Venedig, characterized by itstall growth habit, excellent flower production and dark red-purplecolor.

Sally was discovered and selected as one flowering plant within theprogeny of the stated cross by applicant on Mar. 15, 1981 in acontrolled environment in Bisamberg, Austria.

The first act of asexual reproduction of Sally was accomplished whenvegetative cuttings were taken from the initial selection on Aug. 30,1981 in a controlled environment in Bisamberg, Austria by a technicianworking under formulations established and supervised by WolfgangKirmann. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated in thespring of 1982 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristicsas herein disclosed for Sally are firmly fixed and are retained throughsuccessive generations of asexual reproduction.

Sally has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions.The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment suchas temperature, light intensity, and day length. The followingobservations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown inBisamberg, Austria under conditions which approximate those generallyused in commercial practice.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe basic characteristics of Sally, which in combination distinguish thisgeranium as a new and distinct cultivar.

1. Bright red-purple flower color, variegated with dark red-purple atapproximate center of upper petals.

2. Propagates well, with very good rooting habit.

3. Excellent bud production and very floriferous.

4. Compact, self-branching growth habit.

5. Early flowering and long flowering period.

6. Medium green foliage.

7. Buds are produced under normal greenhouse conditions (5000 Lux for 16hours per day) at 14°-16° C. This is well above the cooler temperaturesrequired for previous domesticum varieties. In addition, plants floweredindoors can be transplanted outdoors and will continue blooming at nighttemperatures as high as 16° C. Known domesticum cultivars will producebuds outdoors only at night temperatures of 10° C. or lower.

8. Sally is unique with regard to the combined features of compactness,continuous flowering, floriferous habit, and red-purple flower color.

Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the mostsimilar in comparison to Sally is Jubilante, an unpatented butcommercial cultivar. In comparison to Jubilante, Sally has a morecompact growth habit, flowers earlier with better flower production, andhas a more uniform red-purple flower color.

The accompanying photographic drawings show typical flower and foliagecharacteristics of Sally, with colors being as true as possible withillustrations of this type.

Sheet 1 is a perspective view of a potted plant of Sally.

Sheet 2 is a black and white print showing the upper surface of immatureand mature plants of Sally.

In the following description color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart (RHS). The color values weredetermined at 9:00 a.m. on May 23, 1985 under 35,000 Lux light intensityin a greenhouse at Hillscheid, Federal Republic of Germany.

Classification:

Botanical.--Pelargonium domesticum.

Commercial.--Commonly referred to as a "Martha Washington" geranium, andhaving the cultivar name Sally.

INFLORESCENCE

A. Umbel:

Average diameter.--Medium; 95-120 mm.

Peduncle length.--Normal.

Pedicel length.--Normal.

B. Corolla:

Average diameter.--65-80 mm; total inflorescence diameter is within thefoliage.

Form.--Five petals.

Color (general tonality from a distance of three meters).--Brightred-purple with small dark red-purple variegation near throat on upperpetals.

Color (upper surface).--68B, variegated near throat with 59A.

C. Bud:

Shape.--Elongated.

Color.--Lilac.

D. Reproductive organs:

Androecium.--Yellow; 7 stamens.

Gynoecium.--Five to six part lobed stigma.

E. Spring flowering response period: Early.

F. Durability: Very good.

PLANT

A. Foliage:

Form.--Zygomorphic with a nectar spur.

Margin.--Crenate with spaced indentations.

Color (upper surface).--Medium green.

Tolerance of Botrytis and soil fungi.--Excellent.

B. General appearance and form:

Internode length.--Short.

Branching pattern.--Excellent.

Height.--Compact.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of geranium named Sally, asdescribed and illustrated, and particularly characterized by its brightred-purple flower color with small, dark red-purple variegation on uppertwo petals; compact, floriferous, self-branching growth habit; earlyflowering; good bud production at night temperatures up to 16° C., thusproviding a long and continuous flowering period; medium green foliage;and by its ease of propagation and good rooting habit.